1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor wafer processing and cleaning operations, and more particularly, to operating timed semiconductor manufacturing operations.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
It is known to provide a semiconductor manufacturing system with controllers which control various processing steps within the semiconductor manufacturing system. For example, a controller may be used to control the operation of a sink containing fluid to set variables such as the temperature of the fluid in the sink and the time that a semiconductor material is to be dipped in the fluid.
Accidental failure to set the correct time on a controller can result in an incorrect processing step for the material being processed. The consequence of an incorrect processing step is often that the material processed must be scrapped. In the normal operation of a timed semiconductor manufacturing controller, a human operator must manually set the controller timer to the value indicated for the process. In practice, the controller typically remains set at the most common process time. This practice results in material being processed for longer or shorter than necessary. Depending upon the step actually being performed by the controller, this can render the semiconductor material unusable thus reducing the efficiency of the semiconductor fabrication system.
The processing that is to be performed on a lot of semiconductor material is normally represented in a card containing a "recipe" of steps to be taken on that lot of semiconductor material. Different lots of semiconductor material will often be processed with different recipes and different tools during the various steps of the wafer fabrication process. Particular steps of the semiconductor processing system will often process various lots interchangeably. Accordingly, it is often necessary to reset the controller to adjust for the various lots.